Cicchetti

Really nice Italian spot in Streeterville. It’s perfect if you want nice, modern Italian food with a group of people, especially families. The staff was really accommodating because I had to bump my reservation a couple of times.
The mushroom flatbread was flavorful, and the gnocchi was cooked perfectly. Our server recommended a great bottle of wine, and he definitely went all out in making sure we had everything that we needed. Will definitely be back!

My wife and I had a wonderful dinner here this past weekend. From the moment of booking, everything was perfect. We were able to get a reservation for 530pm on Saturday without issue, and the restaurant itself is incredibly easy to find. It literally sits in the ground floor of one of the Northwestern Hospital buildings at the corner of North St. Clair and Erie. There is both indoor and outdoor seating. We opted for indoor seating, and it was worth it. The décor of the restaurant is rustic and spacious. There is an open kitchen area, which adds to the ambiance. Our server John K was incredibly knowledgeable about the menu. If you’ve not been before, the menu consists of a few dozen small plates that should to be shared for your first courses. Then, you choose an entrée that sounds yummy. Make sure to save room for desert as well.
For our starters, we went for the aged hanger steak carpaccio, cheese board, and sardines. All were perfect! It’s hard to say which one we liked more. I’d say the carpaccio, but my wife would say the cheese board. For the mains, I went for the duck breast with duck sausage and cauliflower, and my wife went for the short rib ravioli. Both were excellent. There is something truly magical about crispy skin on a duck breast! For desert, we went for the doughnuts and the caramel tart. Both were a wonder way to conclude the evening.
I’d highly recommend this place due to the great food, high quality service, and ease of location.

This restaurant is superb! The service is amazing, they have a great (and reasonably priced wine selection), their food is classic Italian/​Venetian with a twist.
The oyster selection is small, but the east/​west combo was still tasty and accompanied by a good mignonette. The sardines were near PERFECT, lacking only in fish portion size. The prosciutto with strawberry and rhubarb was amazing!
I had the short rib ravioli, this had a very fresh and clean taste, but seemed to be a bit plain. My husband had the brick chicken, and the skin could have been a bit more crispy, but the serving size was pretty large, and it was served over a tasty bed of beans. We ended with the caramel tarte which was devine — the most impressive part of the meal!

I’d give 3.5 review if I could.
A girlfriend and I met up to try their summer cocktail featured in the Redeye. We ordered the pitcher of Murano… it was probably a bit much for 2 people but we figured it were staying for a while.
We came in at 6:30pm on Wed… reservations were easy and the place was more busy later.
We shared the beef carpaccio, and the nonna meatballs (pretty good). I was pleasantly surprised by the portions. It was more than sufficient for 2 people. We also had the short rib ravioli to share which was okay.
I felt that the menu was bit limited. The service wasn’t pushy but I felt that the waitress expected us to order entrées for each of us instead of us sharing 2 apps and entrée… We felt okay with sharing and the cocktail pitcher was tough work for us. Service was great and the food was presented and explained well.
I was not too excited about anything.

Came here for a girls’ night and had a great dinner!
Started off with the basil cocktail as I waited for my girlfriends to show up. It was very refreshing and unique, and I like that.
We had the olives and bread to start out, followed by the popular Nonna’s meatballs— which was definitely met with appreciating nods from all three of us. My favorite dish of the night was the baby squid with squid ink and polenta — - I LOVE polenta and I LOVE squid ink dishes — - this was done really well. I definitely scraped up the last bits of this dish. We also had the Venetian seafood stew— also very delicious. Yes, CIcchetti definitely knows how to do seafood well— which I feel is a hard feat in the Midwest.
We finished with the sundae — - not my choice, as I would have wanted to try the revgerse affogato, but whatever, dessert is dessert.
Very attentive service that night— but then again we were eating at 5:30 PM because we had a WNBA game to catch (free tix from work, or else we wouldn’t have bothered). Also, the interior is really nice. I would def recommend this place.
P. S. SIgn up for the club on their website, and they’ll send you a $ 10 gift certificate about a month after you sign up. Apparently there are birthday perks too— free meal on your birthday— but I didn’t receive that, so who knows!

My wife and I brought my Mom here a couple of weeks ago while she was in town. We’d heard a lot of good things and were excited to try it. Overall, I was very unimpressed with Cichetti.
We started off with a cheese plate and burrata. The cheeses were decent as was the included grape and parsley salad. The apple compote (or whatever it was) was very good but incredibly sweet. The bread appeared to be made in house and was very good when it first arrived and was warm. It slowly became average bread. As for the burrata, my mom called it «tasteless.» My wife and I have had much better burrata as well. This one had an overpowering amount of lemon. It was also odd that they didn’t serve it with some bread or something to put it on.
The short rib ravioli was nothing special at all. The meat, pasta, and sauce were all fine, but I’m not sure I’d use the word «good.» The sauce was sweet with the right amount of acid, but it wasn’t anything to write home about.
The mushroom pizza was alright, although parts of it were overly-​charred and it was a little bland. My mom felt that her salmon was undercooked and sent it back, and that is something she rarely does.
None of the desserts really sounded appealing, so we passed.
Lastly, with your bill they bring complimentary lemoncello. I literally thought it was one of the worst liquids I’ve ever consumed. It tasted like ground lemon rinds and rubbing alcohol.
Portion sizes were small, and the food was generally overpriced.
As for the service, it didn’t get off to a great start. We were seated promptly, but our server seemed to lack confidence and comfort. She did improve as the meal went along, but it was definitely nothing special. Overall, things were prompt and glasses were generally filled. The staff was friendly but not to the out-​of-​their-​way extent an owner would probably hope for. Additionally, I felt the servers looked sloppy for a nice restaurant in their black t-​shirts and brown aprons.
The décor was interesting and the atmosphere was fine.
The food was ok, but we are unlikely to return here.

Went here with a big group of friends on a Sunday to grab a bite for Brunch. Even though we didn’t have a reservation, they were able to accommodate us on their outside patio.
For my meal, I went with the baked egg venetian strata. I wasn’t exactly sure what I was getting myself into, but I liked all of the ingredients, so I decided to give it a shot.
Basically, it was a very eggy baked item with hollandaise sauce and pickled vegetables. The vegetables were a bit overly pickled in my opinion and didn’t really pair well with the strata. The problem with this is that the strata was very rich and sort of one dimensional flavor-​wise and needed something to break it up.
I used a bit of tabasco and ketchup to break up the richness, but I was left a little bit at odds with my dish.
I really wanted to like this place as the service was super friendly and the plating was immaculate, but my dish just didn’t hit the high notes I was expecting.

Finally got around to trying this place! For months now I’ve been jealous of all the happy faces I see in the windows and patio as I walk by. After being supremely disappointed in their lunch-​time sister restaurant Sopraffina next door, I’ve been eager to try this place, with the idea that all their effort goes into Cicchetti, while Sopraffina is like their embarrassing ugly step-​child.
Giving it 3 stars was a tough decision. The place has its ups and downs. What’s great is the service once you’re seated, the décor, and the outdoor lounge seating. What’s bad is the restaurant’s «snooty» attitude towards walkins; I’ve tried to come in before and gotten the same response: you walk in without a reservation, the hostess looks around and ignores ALL of the many EMPTY tables both inside and out, and comes up with an arbitrarily long wait time (at least 30 mins). This last time we simply sat at their empty bar and ate, which was fine for me.
As for the food, it also has it’s good and bad parts.
What’s good:
The Braised Short Rib Ravioli really is as good as they say. Every bite was delicious, and I was sorry I had elected to share it with my buddy. The only bad part is that it’s only like 3 pieces of ravioli. I should order several orders worth next time and ask them to put it in a bowl.
The roasted olives wIth focaccia & spreads was also good. 3 separate times they mentioned something being 150 years old with this dish… I think the bakery that makes the bread or something? Whatever it was they were proud of it, and it was a nice appetizer.
What was disappointing:
The Morel Mushroom Risotto — I’ve never seen or tasted risotto quite like this, and not in a good way. It resembled a gooey porridge underneath, and tasted just as bland. Definitely skip this.
Also, as much as I hate to say so: the Reverse Affogato was not as good as everyone says. The server touted their award-​winning pastry chef, and I bet this dish would have been tasty, but the donuts it comes with were stale. I’m thinking It may have been an off-​day for them.
I do want to come back and try again. Even if it’s just to share a pitcher on the patio.

Cichetti was just fine. I wasn’t blown away.
Tasted:
— the tomatoe and basil flatbread (meh) (weird cheese – kind of like deli slices? didnt’ love it)
— the calamari with polenta and ink (super tasty)
— meatballs (super boring)
Ate: the vegetarian entrée (eggplant with brussels and cauliflower. Cauliflower was divine. The brussels were boring, and the eggplant was disappointingly bland and under-​seasoned.
No one at my table raved about their entrees, or their desserts. Also, the portions left a few people at the table looking hungry. The cappoccino I had at the end of the meal, however, was delicious.

It was a first battle betwixt the charred black ink garlic squid and polenta, smoked whitefish salad or fresh sardines… and the tender squid took priority. What a mouthfuck! This was like the best of gritty Chinatown kicked up to the penthouse as the bits of arugula and mint took this in so many directions.
Creamy, dark, oil tanker, tugboat Querelle. I LOVE it coz it’s certainly ain’t no grits they made for me back down in Mississippi. I owe this chef a virtual tongue kiss because that’s what I’m imagining it’d taste like after they were done sampling high end grub for the night… right up Halsted Street, late on a warm and humid Friday night with Mr. Right. Mmm.
My bartender Josh welcomed me in with a smile and a nice pour of chilled white Gavi. Cicchetti has been a hot destination since December 2013 but you already know how I love my 11 am lunches so that I may eat in peace!
Restaurant is very well lit, has a Georgeous patio right underneath Northwestern Memorial Hospital across from Coco Pazzo and it’s high end.
Already dreaming about rounds 3, 4, 5… :-p

Kinda’ a let down, kinda’ expected, so I’ll kinda put 3 stars (trending towards 3.5).
The food was decent, but nothing out of the ordinary. The short rib ravioli was tasty, but not anything new or innovative.
The lemoncello, was a heavy syrup shot that only burned my throat with alcohol. Yes, I might have tried to order it because I saw everyone else getting it, not realizing that it was complimentary at the end of the meal. Now now, I’m not a lemoncello connoisseur so I’m not holding any stars against them for me not liking the drink; I’m only mentioning it so other people know it’s at the end of the meal, and to have a chaser at your table.
Drinks were good, service was nothing to complain about, food was decent. All in all, the place was A-​OK, which according to Unilocal is 3 stars.

Well I’d been looking forward to going to Cicchetti since it opened and after dining there last night I can definitely say I won’t be going back.
We ordered two pizzas to share: the mushroom and the tomato/​mozzarella/​basil. Both pizzas were lukewarm and boring. I felt like the chef just put some ingredients on cooked pizza crust and sent it out to our table. I would have rather eaten the pizza at Sopraffina Marketcaffe, which is right next door, because they actually serve pizza that is warm.
We also ordered Nonna’s meatballs. These meatballs were flavorless and not worth the $ 13. I felt like these were the poor man’s version of the amazing meatballs at RPM.
The best thing about Cicchetti is the service. The hostess was awesome and the waitress was very personable and helpful.
I’m sure some will disagree with my review and that’s fine, we all have different tastes.

Really really good. Fairly casual atmosphere with great food.
The service was perfect all night. Friendly, not pretentious and very attentive.
We were seated near the kitchen which is traditionally poor seating but we enjoyed it as we could watch the action in the well-​run kitchen.
We started with a drink. The server recommended the old fashioned as it has some all spice in it. It was excellent with a very large round ice cube – I always like that so it does not water down the drink.
We started with the meatballs. It is a great dish with a wonderful tomato sauce. The meats and spices in the meatballs are very complex.
Next we had the root vegetable salad. It, too, was good. The dressing was good.
Next we shared the short ribs ravioli. It was a delight. the pasta was thin and moist. The filling was finely shredded with little basil leaves. Again, the sauce was stunning. Topping it were lovely large shavings of Parmesan.
Finally we had the donut dish – the reverse affogato. The donuts were great but the expresso gelato with malted milk was divine. The gelato was incredibly creamy with intense flavor. I can’t remember a better gelato – not even in Italy.
And a free house-​made limoncello to top things off.
We loved it.

My friend and I made reservations for dinner at Cicchetti on a Monday night. Although the restaurant was nearly empty when I arrived around 5:30 pm, almost every table was spoken for as we were leaving so I strongly recommend a reservation to guarantee yourself a seat. I arrived a little early and grabbed a cocktail at the bar before my friend arrived. I went with the Buongiorno and it was the perfect choice-​St. George Terroir Gin, Aperol, Bergamot, Lemon, and a frothy Egg White to top it off.
Once we were seated we got right down to business and ordered a bottle of red wine and an order of Nonna’s Meatballs. Served in a Pancetta Tomato Sauce with a couple chucks of Ciabatta for dipping, these are definitely not your ordinary meatballs. I recently had sinus surgery at Northwestern so I sent my mom and husband over to Cicchetti for lunch while they waited for me. I made sure they ordered Nonna’s Meatballs and they both agreed that these were one of their favorites!
Next up we went with our server’s recommendation of the Charred Baby Squid with Squid Ink, Black Garlic, and Creamy Polenta. This dish was straight up outstanding! My friend and I both agreed that it was an incredibly unique dish — but unique in a very good way. The squid is actually black from the squid ink, we didn’t really get much of a charred taste, but that was totally fine by us! Mixed with the creamy polenta and black garlic and a bright note of cilantro on top, it was very delicious and my favorite of the night.
After the squid we went with an order of the Bruschette and the Braised Short Rib Ravioli. We ordered one of each of Bruschette: Duck Liver with cocoa nibs, Pork Belly with fennel and golden raisin agrodolce, and Tuna Conserva with pickled shallot and parsley. We split each piece in half so we were both able to try a bite of each and the pork belly was the winner for me. The Short Rib Ravioli is just as good as you might imagine-​extremely tasty and definitely a dish that’s on the heartier side!
We finished off our meal with Cicchetti’s house-​made Limoncello and an order of the Reverse Affogato. The limoncello packs quite the punch so make sure to sip slowly! The sugary doughnuts and bold coffee gelato of the reverse affogato made for the perfect ending to an already notable meal.
Everything we tried here at Cicchetti was wonderful and I can’t wait to return to explore more of this fantastic menu. Word on the street is that the Pork Cracklins and the Aged Hanger Steak Carpaccio are must-​orders, so I definitely need to get back soon to give those a try!

Came here on a Friday evening 8:00 for dinner and was promptly seated at a corner window table. View of St. Clair street was great! Upon entering the first thing you notice are the high ceilings and lit bar. The loft style design and wood pillars make for quite a lot of character in the middle of sterile hospital streeterville.
First thing we wanted to try was Nonna’s meatballs. It came out super quickly and was garnished with cheese and a side of bread. The meatball itself was very well seasoned however with the sauce it was so over salted! So salty to the point where we drank two glasses of water each to bear the sodium. We were too hungry but now thinking back it’s a dish I would have returned rather than get hypertension over.
Next we ordered the pork shank gnocchi and it was very unique and delicious with apple and celery slides within. The white sauce is unexpected and goes well with the gnocchi pasta and pieces of pork. The pasta texture was perfect and I would enjoy this dish again.
Next came the seafood pot and as the waitress said it does come with a little kick. Overall the flavor is just ok and there are decent sized pieces of lobster, octopus and mussels. The crispy rice was also interesting texture in this dish. Order again? No it was also very over salted (sauce) and made it difficult to finish.
What saved this review from a 3?, the affogado donut dessert. Gosh this was very delicious. Donuts have great chewy texture and dipped in the coffee ice cream made it even more delectable.
I was not as impressed as I thought with the food but would come back for the beautiful atmosphere and dessert.

Wow, I was really underwhelmed by this place :(
After hearing so many great things about this restaurant, I brought a friend who was visiting from out of town. Of everything we ordered, I only really enjoyed «Nonna’s Meatballs” — this appetizer and the décor of the restaurant are what gives it 2 stars.
Here are the other items that I ordered:
Bruschette Assortite (1 duck liver + cocoa nibs, 1 porkbelly, fennel, golden raisin agrodolce, and 1 tuna conserva, pickled shallot, parsley) — of the three, the best was probably the tuna, as the shallot & parsley were very light and complemented the taste of the fish. However, I was so disappointed by the bitter-​tasting duck liver — and don’t get me wrong, foie gras is one of my FAVORITE foods in the world (I pretty much order it at every restaurant that offers it), but this was just … bad.
Squid Ink Orecchiette with Lamb Soppressata, brussel sprouts — the waiter should probably warn the diner that this dish is EXTREMELY SPICY, as it is covered completely in red chili flakes (an ingredient that should probably be listed on the menu…). The orecchiette was so hard and tough to chew, and the brussel sprouts weren’t even cooked… it was just a humongous jumble of hard/​soft/​crunchy texture and weird flavors, and I actually felt sick eating it. I took the rest home (and later threw it away) because the waiter kind of made me feel bad about not finishing the last bite of the foie gras bruschette.
I can’t comment on my friend’s dishes (the prosciutto salad and the braised pork shank gnocchi), but personally, I really did not enjoy the dishes I ordered, and this was the first restaurant in which I didn’t completely finish everything on my plate even when I didn’t love it.

Finally got a chance to come to this restaurant as it’s fairly new and only opened about 2 months ago in Streeterville.
We made reservations and were seated right away. So far so good.
The ambiance of the restaurant was very cool, it has a cool vibe and look to it, not too over the top it was cool.
The food was 5 stars. Everything we had was great, some I liked more than others, but that’s just my personal taste. Some items that stuck out.
Shaved Root Salad — Excellent, so much flavor for a salad!
Fantina Flatbread — SO GOOD! I Could eat 5 of these…
Gnocchi — Great
Seafood Stew — Not as much flavor as the other dishes, but still great. also it’s a big portion.
For dessert we got the Reverse Affogato and I mixed up the gelato flavors and sorbet, which was a very wise decision as I wasn’t feeling 3 flavors for each of those categories, so I’m glad they let you mix and match.
The hemingway cocktail was also very good, but at $ 14 a pop it’s hard to keep going…
The only issue we had all night was that they never cleared our plates, we used the same plates for every single dish, and after the meatballs our plates were very messy, so mixing the meatball sauce with salad wasn’t too fun… Also I wish they had spaced out the dishes a bit more, our table was very small for the 4 of us, and having more then 3 entrees out on the table was overkill for the space, especially when we all had drinks. I understand they bring it from the kitchen to the table as soon as it’s finished, but can’t they just wait a little bit to cook a dish after we have like 3 of them on our table? At one point I think we had 7 dishes on our table, it was a little crazy, and we had to shove all the food on our plates so they could clear the larger plates.
I’ll definitely be back, they have a nice setup for their bar area which looks like they accept walk-​ins and I live near by so this is probably the best nice spot for food in Streeterville right now.

Stopped by this place for dinner. Is it amazing enough to bring a friend here if he/​she visited from out of town? Nope. But still had a very solid experience and the food was great. Came here with another person and we ordered:
— Bruschette assortite (duck liver, porkbelly, and tuna conserva) — $ 8: I liked the porkbelly and tuna, while the duck liver was a bit too metallic for my taste. A bit pricey considering each piece can be eaten in 2 bites, but it was a good way to sample different flavors. 3.5 stars
— Charred baby squid (squid ink, black garlic, polenta) — $ 14: I really like seafood, and the squid itself was really soft and tender. There wasn’t as much flavor as I had expected — after a few bites, the flavors were rather muddled. Decent portion size, especially compared to the bruschette. 3.5 stars
— Venetian Seafood stew — $ 34: Although pricey, there was a good variety of seafood and great flavor. I got to sample prawns, lobster, mussel, and octopus. My biggest complaint about this dish was the ciabatta loaf. It was SO hard that I could barely break it apart and it hurt to bite into it… like what is going on? 4 stars
— Dessert was a reverse affogato: typically, an affogato consists of pouring coffee over vanilla ice cream, but the «reverse» part of the name alluded to the fact that there was vanilla/​cream poured over coffee ice cream. It came with a side of donuts to dip. Awesome dessert! Really great flavor, and the donuts complemented the ice cream/​vanilla flavors really well. I would say it was the most creative and memorable dish of the night. 4.5 stars.
Service was good, food came out at a reasonable pace.

Twas my lunch hour in Streeterville. My coworkers and I, party of seven, had made rezos here the day before in order to send one of our peeps off to their new j.o.b.
We walked in and got seated immediately. First thing I noticed was the décor. It’s pretty swanky in there! Hip & definitely clean! Once we sat down, our server, Sarah, promptly took good care of us.
I was presented with the restaurant week lunch hour menu. I chose the only app on the restaurant week menu (pork cracklings), prosciutto/​sweet potato/​arugula salad for second, and pork sandwich with egg on top for the main course.
The cracklings were «eh». Pretty ordinary, simple, but still seasoned well. I wouldn’t order these on a regular, non-​restaurant week lunch; just not worth the $.
The prosciutto salad was good! I only wish it was bigger. I scarfed it down in two bites, literally. I am aware that restaurant week menu items at this location are «slightly smaller» than their normal offerings, but wow… that was small! :(
The sandwich was surprisingly tasty! I had read other reviews regarding this particular pork sandwich saying that it wasn’t seasoned enough and tasted bland so I took a precaution and asked for salt and pepper before my sandwich came out. I didn’t need it! I tasted onion and pepper bits. Maybe after reading those reviews, the chef changed the recipe or maybe the other person who previously posted about this caught the chef on an «off day», I don’t know. But I was very content with this. Also, the chips were crispy and were definitely homemade! Yum :)
My coworkers ordered some doughnut looking dessert that came with coffee ice cream. I grabbed a nibble off of theirs and WOAH! this was phenomenal. Order that dessert now!
Overall, a very nice surprise in the Streeterville hood’. I likey and will return

Tucked away in the shadow of Northwestern Hospital and only a block off the Mag Mile, Cicchetti blew me away the other night with the high level of food and service!
The name Cicchetti means «small dishes or side dishes» typically served in the little bars that you find in Venice, Italy. Chef Michael Sheerin (Blackbird) has opened this new restaurant that features fresh, local ingredients served in the first «green seal» approved restaurant in the city.
The restaurant décor features reclaimed wood from a barn in Wisconsin which is a lovely contrast interspersed with the marble counter on the bar and the light colored seats and tables. Don’t be put off my the menus cut up to act as your drink coasters. .. it’s just another attempt to be green (although until the bartender told me this– I thought they were out of cocktail napkins! Ha!) And you should have seen the look on my friend’s face when he asked for a cocktail napkin to wipe his hands and was told there weren’t any…but he was accommodated with a full size cloth napkin.
We were warmly greeted as we walked in by Joshua, bartender extraordinaire, who was a good with a drink (he makes a mean martini!) as he was with his passion for what he was doing and in wanting to share that with us. It was like having a drink with an old friend, so much so, that we ended up having our nightcap at his bar as well.
We were seated by the front windows and began to look over the menu. «The menu is share able», explained our highly competent and friendly server, Sean offering up several of his favorites for us to consider. There were so many things that we wanted to try– I certainly will need to return as we only scratched the surface of this wonderful menu.
We started with the focaccia bread that came with kumquat jam, olives and giardienera to spread on it. Delicious! And Sean said that it came from 150 year old starter. .. . which whether true or not. .you gotta love a bread with a past!
Next up– «Nonnas» meatballs served with pancetta sauce. .. .these were amazing! As was the grilled black ink squid served with garlic and polenta. A wonderful dish! And since my friend is a bit of a risotto connoisseur, we also devoured the saffron risotto which he claimed was one of the best he had tasted!
And finally– for our entrée– we split the seafood stew which was a wonderful combination of prawns, lobster, mussels and octopus served in a wonderful pepper tomato sauce served with couscous and rice. A hearty dish for a cold Winter’s evening! Molto Buona!
After all that food– there was barely room for dessert but somehow we squeezed in a taste of a creamy, cherry gelato that was nestled on a shortbread crunch and served with a shortbread cookie. A perfect ending!
But we weren’t done yet as they give everyone a complimentary serving of their in house made limoncello. . one of my favs! It was a nice touch that said they appreciated our business.
There were so many other things that I also wanted to try like the duck three ways, the chicken, more of the amazing pasta dishes as well as the sardines. Sardines you say? Not my usual go to food but everyone who works here sings their praises so I just have to check them out on my next visit.
If you drive– there is valet parking located just south of the restaurant at the Hyatt on Erie for $ 14 for three hours. Be sure to have your ticket validated by the hostess to get that rate.
Grazie, Cicchetti! I had wonderful dining experience that just made my night. .. .and isn’t that what eating out is all about?